Attitudes towards Digital Educational Technologies Scale for University Students: Development and Validation

Abstract

Numerous studies of the digitalization of higher education show that university students’ attitudes toward digital educational technologies (DETs) are one of the important psychological factors that can hinder or facilitate the optimal implementation of digital technologies in education. International researchers have developed many tools for diagnosing the attitudes of university students toward various aspects of the digitalization of education; however, until recently, similar scales in Russian have not been developed, which determined the purpose of this present research. The proposed version of the Attitudes towards DETs Scale for University Students (ATDETS-US) includes the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral subscales corresponding components of the attitude according to the ACB Model. The validation sample included 317 (160 females and 157 males) bachelor and master students from different Russian universities. Psychometric testing using Cronbach’s Alpha and McDonald’s Omega coefficients, hierarchical factor analysis, and CFA confirm the high internal consistency, reliability of the ATDETS-US and its subscales, and the good fit of the model. ATDETS-US will be used for obtaining reliable data on the attitudes towards DETs in university students, which should be taken into account when designing programs for their psychological support in the educational process and developing their digital competence.

Keywords

• digitalization
• higher education
• university students
• ABC model
• attitudes to digital educational technologies
• psychometric verification